CA Intermediate Course: Eligibility, Papers, Exams and Fees

CA Intermediate at a glance

ICAI launched the New Scheme on 1 July 2023. The CA course now has three levels (Foundation, Intermediate and Final) plus Self-Paced Online Modules taken during Final. These are the main Intermediate rules from ICAI's FAQs and exam announcements:

You must register for both groups even if you plan to write one group at a time (FAQ Q 3.12). You can write the two groups in the same session or in different sessions.

Next CA Intermediate exam: January 2027

ICAI's announcement of 23 September 2026 sets the January 2027 Intermediate exams as follows:

• Exam forms open on eservices.icai.org on 3 November 2026. The last date without late fee is 16 November 2026, and with a late fee of ₹600 it is 19 November 2026.
• A correction window to change the exam city or medium runs from 20 to 22 November 2026.
• To be eligible for January 2027, you must have registered for Intermediate on or before 1 May 2026.

ICAI publishes a new announcement, fee chart and guidance notes for every session on its website, so check the one for your exam before you apply.

Who can join CA Intermediate

ICAI allows two ways in: the Foundation route and the Direct Entry route (FAQ Q 3.1).

Foundation route

You can register for Intermediate after passing both the CA Foundation exam and Class 12 (FAQ Q 3.2). Our CA Foundation guide covers that first level: registration after Class 10 or 12, its four papers and its exam rules.

Direct entry

You can skip Foundation and register straight for Intermediate if you are one of these (FAQ Q 3.3 and ICAI's Prospectus):

• A commerce graduate or post-graduate with at least 55% marks. ICAI's Prospectus counts as commerce graduates those who studied at least three papers, with set minimum marks, from subjects such as accounting, auditing, mercantile or corporate laws, economics, management, taxation, costing or business administration.
• A graduate or post-graduate in any other stream with at least 60% marks.
• A candidate who has passed the Intermediate level of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) or the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICMAI).

If you are in the final year of graduation or post-graduation, you can register provisionally. You complete the eight-month study period during that year, but your registration is confirmed only when you submit a marksheet with the required marks, within six months of your final-year exam. If you do not reach the required marks, the provisional registration is cancelled and the study period does not count (FAQ Q 3.4 to 3.8).

Registration and the eight-month rule

You register online on ICAI's Self Service Portal at eservices.icai.org and pay the ₹18,000 registration fee for both groups (FAQ Q 1.3 and Q 3.10). After registering you receive login details for ordering the printed study material from ICAI's Centralised Distribution System (CDS) portal (FAQ Q 3.14).

You must be registered for at least eight months on the first day of the exam month. ICAI's cut-off dates are:

For example, if you register now (October 2026), on or before 1 January 2027, your first possible attempt is the September 2027 exam (our reading of ICAI's cut-off table).

Fees

You pay the exam fee every time you submit an exam form; ICAI charges no separate form fee. The fees at the Bahrain, Dubai and Kathmandu centres are different and are listed in the fee chart. For the full cost of the CA course, including the ICITSS courses and fee concessions, see our CA course fee guide.

CA Intermediate papers

The six papers, from ICAI's FAQs and Prospectus:

Group I

Group II

The detailed syllabus for each paper is on ICAI's New Scheme syllabus page.

Exam pattern

From ICAI's guidance notes for the September 2026 Intermediate exams and its January 2027 announcement:

• MCQs and descriptive questions. Every paper has 30 marks of multiple-choice questions and 70 marks of descriptive questions. Each MCQ carries 1 or 2 marks and has four options with one correct answer. The MCQs are compulsory, there is no choice among them, and there is no negative marking.
• Timing. Each paper lasts 3 hours, from 2 PM to 5 PM Indian Standard Time, with 15 minutes of reading time from 1:45 PM.
• Two-section papers. Papers 3 and 6 are written in one 3-hour session, but each section is answered in a separate answer book. The paper still counts as a single paper for passing and exemptions.
• Language. You can answer in English or Hindi. You choose the medium in the exam form, and answers written in the other language get no credit.
• Centres. The exams are written at centres in Indian cities and in Bahrain, Dubai and Kathmandu.

Exam form

For every session you apply online on the Self Service Portal and pay the exam fee there. ICAI announces the form dates for each session on icai.org; for January 2027 they are listed above. Before applying, check that your registration is valid and that your photograph and signature on the portal meet ICAI's requirements (ICAI, Requirements for Applying for Foundation & Intermediate September 2026 Exams).

Admit card

ICAI hosts admit cards on eservices.icai.org, generally 14 days before the exam starts. No printed admit card is posted to you, so download it and check your name, registration number, centre, medium and group (ICAI guidance notes, September 2026).

Passing marks and results

ICAI's passing rules (FAQ Q 3.18) are:

• One group: at least 40% in each paper of the group and 50% in the aggregate of that group, in one sitting.
• Both groups together: either pass each group as above, or score at least 40% in each of the six papers and 50% in the aggregate of all six.

If you fail a group but score 60% or more in a paper, you are exempted from that paper for the next three exams. After that you can make the exemption permanent, but you then need at least 50% in each remaining paper of the group (FAQ Q 3.19).

Results are published on caresults.icai.org. How to check your result, what the marksheet shows and how verification works is covered in our CA Intermediate result guide.

After CA Intermediate

Once you have passed both groups (ICAI FAQs and Prospectus):

1. Complete the four-week Integrated Course on Information Technology and Soft Skills (ICITSS).
2. Start the two-year practical training, known as CA articleship. It cannot start after passing only one group.
3. Register for CA Final at any time after passing both groups. You can sit the Final exam once at least six months have passed since you finished articleship, and after you have completed Advanced ICITSS and qualified the four Self-Paced Online Modules.

ICAI also offers a Business Accounting Associate (BAA) certificate to students who have passed both Intermediate groups, completed the practical training and Advanced ICITSS, and qualified the Self-Paced Online Modules that apply to them.

Study material and practice papers

ICAI's own material for Intermediate is on its Board of Studies Knowledge Portal: the study material, revision test papers, mock test papers, previous years' question papers and suggested answers. Printed study material can be ordered from the CDS portal after you register.